Farrell fancies Deise men

Three-time All-Ireland winning manager Cyril Farrell believes Waterford have plenty of strength in depth to make up for Tadhg de Burca’s absence against Cork this afternoon.

The DRA upheld de Burca's one-match suspension on Thursday night for interfering with Wexford opponent Harry Kehoe’s faceguard during last month’s All-Ireland quarter-final win but, writing in his Irish Independent column this weekend, Galway native Farrell feels they’ve plenty of talent on the bench to topple the Rebels.

“They brought on Maurice Shanahan, Brian O'Halloran, Stephen Bennett, Colin Dunford and Tommy Ryan against Wexford and still had Patrick Curran, Mikey Kearney and Shane McNulty on the bench. Now that's strength in depth,” Farrell wrote.

“Okay, so they probably don't have anyone as good as de Búrca for the specific job he does, but they have plenty scope for improvisation. Darragh Fives can move back and Kevin Moran is also comfortable around the half-back line.

“That allows Austin Gleeson (right) to operate around midfield with Jamie Barron. Both are playing much better than they were two months ago so Derek McGrath will expect the middle third to be more efficient this time.”

He added: “I don't go along with the view that de Burca's absence will provide extra motivation for Waterford.

“They are in an All-Ireland semi-final, so what more motivation is required?

“They need to concentrate on what tomorrow is all about - reaching the final for the first time since 2008.